University of Rhode Island

How it Happened

Marquis Buchanan had a career-high 193 receiving yards and two touchdowns as the Rams scored their most points this season to defeat Yale in the teams' first-ever meeting.
 
Rhode Island opened the scoring on its first possession when Alex McClelland launched a moonshot pass downfield to Jamal Mensah for a 58-yard touchdown, giving Rhody an early seven-point advantage. Two drives later, McClelland found Marquis Buchanan on the sideline, throwing it just past the defender, and Buchanan took it 79 yards for the score to double the Rams' lead.
 
Later in the second quarter, Rohan Davy intercepted Yale quarterback Dante Reno to give Rhody great field position. Rhody was unable to move the ball on the ensuing possession; however, Josh Hamel drilled a 48-yard field goal to make it 17-0 Rhode Island with 9:47 to go in the half.
 
Yale finally broke through offensively when Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni scampered for a 36-yard rushing touchdown to bring the Bulldogs to within 10. Rhody responded right away with another big strike to Buchanan, who picked up 60 yards on the catch-and-run. Despite getting inside the five-yard line from a few rushing plays and a personal foul penalty against Yale, the Rams settled for three points when Ty Groff made a 19-yard field goal to make it 20-7.
 
On the ensuing possession, Yale got to the 1-yard line running their two-minute offense, but Reno's last-second pass was tipped at the line, forcing an incompletion and the end of the half.
 
After Yale went 15 plays for 70 yards and a field goal on their opening second-half drive, the Rams had two big plays to capture another seven points to make it 27-10. McClelland scrambled for 32 yards, then two plays later, tossed a 37-yard touchdown over the middle for Buchanan, his second of the game.
 
The Bulldogs put together another 15-play, 70-yard drive, and this time, they were able to punch it in the endzone, as Reno hit Graham Smith through the air for six, to cut the lead to 27-17. The Rams went three-and-out on their following possession, so Yale got the ball back with a chance to get even closer, but were unsuccessful in moving the chains going for it on fourth down.
 
Rhody extended the lead yet again on a 3-and-11 play, when McClelland scrambled and threw a jump ball that Sean Byrd came down with in the endzone, with a defender draped all over him. Groff made his fourth extra point of the day to make it 34-17 with 7:44 to go.
 
Yale came back and scored six more points when Reno connected with Jaxton Santiago on 4^th and goal from the four, but the Rams were able to block the extra point to keep it at 34-23. After an initial successful onside kick recovery, the Bulldogs were flagged for offside, forcing them to retry, and the Rams recovered the attempt. Gabe Winowich capped off the day with a nine-yard touchdown run, and Rhody secured their second straight win of the season.
 
Inside the Box Score

• This is the first victory against a ranked opponent since Oct. 19, 2024, a 26-9 win over UNH.
• McClelland finished the day 11-16 and 285 yards passing with four touchdowns.
• McClelland was also the Rams' leading rusher, gaining 92 yards on the ground.
• Marquis Buchanan had 7 catches and a game-high and career-high 193 yards receiving to go along with his two touchdowns.
• Buchanan moves into a tie for fourth place with Bobby Apgar for career touchdown receptions, with 26.
• Mensah's first-quarter touchdown is his first score since 2020.
• The 58-yard touchdown pass from McClelland to Mensah was the longest of the season, until Buchanan's 79-yard score two drives later.
• Hamel's 48-yard field goal is the second longest of the season for the Rams kicker.
• This is just the second game this season that the Rams did not turn the ball over, with the first being against Merrimack on Aug. 28.
• Andre DePina-Gray and Ethan McCann-Carter both logged 10 tackles to lead the team.
• Chaas McCoy and Dane Picariello combined for the Rams' lone sack of the day.
• Trey Lubin and BJ Barrow served as game captains. Patrick Conserve was the anchor bearer.

Up Next
Rhode Island returns to Pawtucket on Saturday, Oct. 24, when it hosts UAlbany for the annual Family Weekend game. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. and will be broadcast on FloCollege.